Seen as this has been resurrected I thought I'd pass on what how I've found the last few years with Ryr.
I've been lucky, based initially in a nice base in the far south of Europe and then more recently back at home in the UK.
Money has been alright, its a bit of a pain submitting expenses every month but thats just the way it is.
I dont agree with the above re the rating being for free but you do certainly get a portion of it back as its claimed back against tax in the first couple of years.
The flying is good and relatively interesting, the company seems to be changing for the better, summer leave and the roster is pretty much unbeatable.
Don't get me wrong, there are still issues and there always will be with a company this size but I generally find that if you keep your head down, fly the plane how they want, do the paperwork correctly, do a bit of study for the sim's / line checks and you will be very much left alone.
Roughly 3 years after first setting foot in a 737 flight deck Im now approaching being considered to do the command upgrade training, I have an unfrozen licence and Im also eligible to apply elsewhere in search of a better job.
For me the opportunity to have, in another 3 years time, over 5000 total time and 2000 pic on a medium sized jet is very appealing and Im almost certain I'll hang around and have a crack at the command.
In response to weeonerotate's comments;
"And regarding other industries, what an utter bull****, tell a new graduated plumber to work for free 12 month.. He'll laugh at you rest of the day ..the reality is, he'll make more than you until you upgrade ;-)"
Yes maybe the building trade is alright at the moment but when the next recession hits it won't be. Also a plumber who has done an apprenticeship has already spent the previous few years working for absolute peanuts.
How about the other industries? Medical profession, the police and fire service have all had pay freezes which with inflation are effectively pay cuts over the last few years (certainly in the UK).
Also we're not really working for free are we? After the rating and once safety pilot released we are earning and seeing some money coming back, according to my payroll report on a certain rostering site I have flown a little over 2600 h and made approaching 195,000 euro in the last 3 years. Take the rating out and some costs say 60k that is still 45,000 eu a year on average. Not the best pay around but not that bad either.
I've met quite a few lads over the last few years, lots of them have now moved on to the likes of BA, Thomson, J2, Emirates, Qatar, Etihad and corporate jobs. I've never heard anyone say they regret joining Ryr. Please don't mistake me as a brown nose, Im not but there are very few places where lads with low experience can go, fly 900 hours a year, get exposure to flying in challenging environments and ultimately get their flying career up and running.
I suspect the same argument will be doing the rounds in years to come about people accepting poorer terms than what was previously on offer. I do understand where the argument comes from however market forces drive everything and unfortunately I can't see anything changing for the better.